tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219513072014-10-14T06:00:58.987-05:00Never Give InWinston Churchill's said, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense." This encourages me to fight, especially for kids in classrooms. They deserve better.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-48551188008370867202014-02-20T07:32:00.002-06:002014-02-20T07:36:09.891-06:00Behind the Scenes with Presenting Inquiry 2.0I just presented on Inquiry 2.0 for the first time, and I wanted to share that presentation with you. I thought this might be especially useful to those of you looking to develop a presentation on the NGSS. <a href="http://prezi.com/6yu1cip7ofef/?utm_campaign=share&amp;utm_medium=copy&amp;rc=ex0share" target="_blank">Here's the Prezi I used</a>, and it's set so you can copy and recycle it as you on. And here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9jkrxA8pE" target="_blank">a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of that Prezi</a> in which I explain how I used it to help teachers understand how the Next Generation Science Standards require us to teach by inquiry and also ramp inquiry up to the next level.<br /><br />Please, steal this Prezi!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oxSSxy50ztk/UwYD6-z2IEI/AAAAAAAABfg/aH8LZCFupDM/s1600/Screenshot+2014-02-20+07.30.26.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oxSSxy50ztk/UwYD6-z2IEI/AAAAAAAABfg/aH8LZCFupDM/s1600/Screenshot+2014-02-20+07.30.26.png" height="265" width="400" /></a></div><br />Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-46783880667808222802014-01-30T15:16:00.000-06:002014-02-08T09:56:48.634-06:00Understanding, not Belief, in the NGSS Evolution Standards for High School<div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://iowansforlocalcontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/NGSS-Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://iowansforlocalcontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/NGSS-Logo.jpg" height="154" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image <a href="http://iowansforlocalcontrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/NGSS-Logo.jpg" target="_blank">from here</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Finally got some time, <a href="http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/01/dusting_of_chaos_how_snow_stun.html" target="_blank">thanks to Snowmageddon '14 here in Birmingham</a>, to dedicate some time to examining how the Next Generation Science Standards approach the teaching of evolution. I had looked briefly several times before, but I needed some think time before putting an analysis for your review and reaction. (I definitely got that think time when my whole city shut down for 2 days.) I look forward to your feedback, especially if you see the NGSS differently than I do.<br /><br /><b><i>Bottom line: The NGSS do not require belief in evolution</i>.</b> And that's really good news for teaching evolution in the South and other areas of the country where students resist learning about evolution. It's also really good news for public school parents, science teachers, and anyone developing curriculum documents. <b><i>The NGSS keep public school classrooms safe for students who see a conflict between evolution and their faith</i></b>.<br /><br />Let's look first at <a href="http://www.nextgenscience.org/hsls4-biological-evolution-unity-diversity" target="_blank">the high school evolution standards from the NGSS</a>. I'll analyze them standard-by-standard below, but I suggest that you first take a couple of minutes to review the standards as they are presented together. As you probably know, the NGSS are purposely written to fit many, many features together in each standard set. &nbsp;At the bare minimum, they intertwine content and process so that science teaching in America can no longer divorce the two. If you haven't seen it already, also make sure to see how the clarification statements and assessment boundaries help science teachers see the level of rigor NGSS is targeting for teaching evolution.<br /><br />Now, looking standard-by-standard for belief versus understanding:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="popup " style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">HS-LS4-1 Communicate scientific information that</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">common ancestry and biological evolution</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="red" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on a conceptual understanding of the role each line of evidence has relating to common ancestry and biological evolution. Examples of evidence could include similarities in DNA sequences, anatomical structures, and order of appearance of structures in embryological development.]</span></span></i></blockquote><br />Clearly, this standard makes no requirement students believe in evolution. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Missing-Link-Approach-Evolution/dp/0325017492" target="_blank">As I have advocated for years</a>, this standard grounds students' work strongly in evidence by having them look at multiple lines. Then, they are to be able from that to "communicate scientific information" about evolution, and I hear in that portion of the standard a clear focus on students' understanding and communicating key science ideas without requiring any kind of belief from them.<br /><br /><table style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><tbody style="border: 0px;"><tr><td style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: top;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer;">HS-LS4-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence that&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer;">the process of evolution</span>&nbsp;<span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer;">primarily results from</span>&nbsp;<span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer;">four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.</span>&nbsp;<span class="red" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using evidence to explain the influence each of the four factors has on number of organisms, behaviors, morphology, or physiology in terms of ability to compete for limited resources and subsequent survival of individuals and adaptation of species. Examples of evidence could include mathematical models such as simple distribution graphs and proportional reasoning.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include other mechanisms of evolution, such as genetic drift, gene flow through migration, and co-evolution.]</span></span></i></blockquote></td></tr><tr></tr></tbody></table>I've summarized inquiry for many groups of science teachers as a cycle of evidence and explanation. This standard solidly directs students toward understanding evolutionary processes in an inquiry approach. They build explanations out of evidence, and teachers can guide these explanations away from belief controversies by keeping them focused on scientific explanations and how those are limited to natural processes. The standard clearly supports this with its four factors, all of which are natural processes.<br /><div><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">HS-LS4-3 Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support explanations that</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">organisms with an advantageous heritable trait</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">tend to</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="red" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on analyzing shifts in numerical distribution of traits and using these shifts as evidence to support explanations.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to basic statistical and graphical analysis. Assessment does not include allele frequency calculations.]</span></span></i></blockquote><div>A focus on natural selection, as in this standard, typically doesn't cause resistant students nearly the problems they face when they are asked to look at evolution across millions of years. So belief shouldn't be an issue with this standard.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">HS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">natural selection</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">leads to</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">adaptation of populations.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="red" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using data to provide evidence for how specific biotic and abiotic differences in ecosystems (such as ranges of seasonal temperature, long-term climate change, acidity, light, geographic barriers, or evolution of other organisms) contribute to a change in gene frequency over time, leading to adaptation of populations.]</span></span></i></blockquote>Same as the Standard 3 above--natural selection typically doesn't raise belief issues.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">HS-LS4-5 Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">changes in environmental conditions</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">may result in:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">(1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="red" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on determining cause and effect relationships for how changes to the environment such as deforestation, fishing, application of fertilizers, drought, flood, and the rate of change of the environment affect distribution or disappearance of traits in species.]</span></span></i></blockquote>With a focus on "emergence of new species," this standard will probably be the most difficult of the six for resistant students. Typically, they resist evolution because they simply do not believe new species can emerge on their own without supernatural influence. (<a href="http://leemeadows.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-thought-lot-about-wonder-and-awe-in.html" target="_blank">I actually agree with them</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Science-vs-Religion-Scientists-Really/dp/0195392981" target="_blank">many practicing scientists agree as well</a>.) But, clearly, this standard does not focus on changing students' beliefs. They are not to "accept the evidence supporting claims..." Instead, they are to "evaluate the evidence." Interestingly, I actually think this standard left a door wide open for a <a href="http://ncse.com/evolution/education/teach-controversy" target="_blank">Teach the Controversy approach</a>, which I am quite sure the NGSS authors did not attend.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">Create or revise a simulation to test</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">a solution to mitigate adverse</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">impacts</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="popup" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">of human activity on biodiversity.*&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;"></span><span class="red" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on designing solutions for a proposed problem related to threatened or endangered species, or to genetic variation of organisms for multiple species.]</span></span></i></blockquote>Again, clearly a focus on natural selection, since it's limited within the short time frame of human activity, and not one raising the specter of belief change.</div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-5078401051123423952013-04-18T18:43:00.000-05:002013-04-18T18:43:06.880-05:00Vote No to SB 403!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rVthM-c9Oic/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rVthM-c9Oic?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rVthM-c9Oic?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>The video here gives a quick overview of the benefits of the common core standard. See my previous blog post for <a href="http://leemeadows.blogspot.com/2013/02/i-dont-normally-make-habit-of-posting.html" target="_blank">the lies the opponents of common core are using</a> to try to make their case. Please take five minutes to <a href="http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html" target="_blank">find out who your senator is</a>, and to call him or her and ask for a No vote on SB 403. (The bill is to repeal the common core; so, a No vote is asking to stop the repeal and keep the Common Core.)Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-7004511174154715682013-02-23T10:40:00.001-06:002013-02-23T10:40:49.560-06:00They lied!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rUXIVRJNKpY/USjw5MwiOBI/AAAAAAAAAv0/ALZiCzUv4nc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-02-23+at+10.39.33+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rUXIVRJNKpY/USjw5MwiOBI/AAAAAAAAAv0/ALZiCzUv4nc/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-02-23+at+10.39.33+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">I don't normally make a habit of posting political comments, but something is going on in the Alabama legislature that I think many of you would want to know about. A bill has been introduced in both houses that would ban Alabama from participating in th</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">e Common Core movement. That is a nationwide coalition of states who have come together to decide and implement a set of common standards. As a life-long educator, I think the common core is a great thing for Alabama kids. It puts them on a level playing field with students in 45 other states, and it will open the doors for them to get better jobs in today's global economy.<br /><br />The bill is being pushed by the Tea Party side of the political spectrum. I have no beef with the Tea Party. I believe in conservative fiscal policies and limited government. I do have a beef, though, with a bill that is based on lies. <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/zp7iz727mfojj6f/TRUTH-2013%20Resolution%20for%20ALGOP%20State%20Executive%20Committee.pdf" target="_blank">Please take a look at the document here, which clearly rebuts every point of the current Alabama bill</a>.</span>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-7863993712314834512012-12-13T16:07:00.004-06:002012-12-13T16:09:43.466-06:00Online learning: Knowing their work, but not them.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Online learning is all the rage right now, but I don't think it's a panacea or silver bullet. I'm learning from teaching online that it has strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, and definitely trade-off's when compared to face-to-face instruction. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mho8IQB37sM" target="_blank">In this 3-minute video, I describe what I've learned this semester in teaching online</a>. My key reflection is that I get to know my students' work, but I don't get to know them as people.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/mho8IQB37sM/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mho8IQB37sM?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mho8IQB37sM?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-78032328146463861782012-09-27T15:45:00.004-05:002012-09-27T15:45:38.252-05:00Coming soon... the behind the scenes on&nbsp;<a href="http://prezi.com/nee6k1c42gbk/coevolution/" target="_blank">Coevolution on Prezi</a>.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-18215929346278106152012-06-01T05:44:00.003-05:002012-09-25T13:55:11.040-05:006000 Skulls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZnVpO2dzDU/T8ic3MbyoLI/AAAAAAAAAPY/QcVsOim6BhE/s1600/photo-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PZnVpO2dzDU/T8ic3MbyoLI/AAAAAAAAAPY/QcVsOim6BhE/s320/photo-7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I just spent the day trying to really get my head around human evolution at the Hall of Human Origins in the National Museum of Natural History. I think I'm getting it. <i>Australopithecus</i> died out. <i>Homo heidelbergensis</i> is probably the common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals. <i>Homo erectus</i> lived a long time and was pretty dang tall.<br /><br />The biggest thing I'm pondering as I walk away is how all that we know about early humans is based on 6,000 skulls. That seems like a low number. On the one hand, the number doesn't bother me. 6,000 is a pretty hefty count for any collection of specimens. Even just 1 piece of evidence is something that science must deal with, as long as it is authentic. And 6,000 is a lot more than 60 or even 600.<br /><br />On the other hand, that seems like such a small number to answer the question, "Where did we come from?" In my day-to-day world, people don't believe in human evolution. I don't see them being convinced by this amount of evidence. Sure, I could try to argue with the reliability of the skulls we do have or the promise of future finds or the difficulty of fossilization. Those science-y arguments don't work well for the non-science-y people I'm thinking of. Human evolution asks them to overturn much of their worldview, and I don't think 6,000 data points are enough for them to do that.<br /><br />(And I just realized that the number of currently known skulls is equal to what most of my people believe to be the age of the Earth. How crazy is that?)Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-27612165213079624332012-02-09T19:45:00.006-06:002012-02-14T13:58:30.600-06:00My Talk at Tedx Birmingham<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Speaking at <a href="http://tedxbirmingham.org/">Tedx Birmingham</a> was an amazing experience! How do you cram 25 years of teaching into 18 minutes? How do you communicate the dire challenges in American education and the hope all around us in excellent innovations? How do you help people outside of education understand how our education system is failing children while at the same time honoring teachers and the impact they have?</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The resources I used in the talk should be <a href="http://delicious.com/pleemeadows/MyTed">tagged in my Delicious account with "MyTed"</a>. Let me know, please, if anything you need is missing. Also, here's the <a href="http://prezi.com/ll-fzxkydebv/changing-the-world-of-teaching-original-tedx-8oct11/?auth_key=5fda14cde28a89b10e5fd49d97ddb1f06cbcf43a">link to the presentation</a> I used during the talk, which was developed in Prezi.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/8KGs2UBURN0/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8KGs2UBURN0&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8KGs2UBURN0&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-7250890355582157282011-12-30T06:33:00.002-06:002011-12-30T06:43:15.577-06:00Tweaking Inquiry<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">When I was in the classroom, the break around Christmas was always a time when I retooled what was going on in my classroom. It was my half-time for the year, a time to step back and make important changes so that my students would learn better. Half of my time with them was gone, and I wanted the rest of the time with them to be as good as it could be.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If you're new to teaching science by inquiry, you've got a chance to make some key tweaks to teaching and learning in your classroom now. You probably don't need to make huge changes, even if you're frustrated with inquiry. Inquiry is a great approach for teaching! Don't doubt that. Instead, step back and think about small changes that you can make that can give big benefits.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I constantly use the&nbsp;<a href="http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih6/inquiry/guide/info_process-b.htm">five essential features of inquiry</a>&nbsp;from&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309064767">Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards</a></i>&nbsp;as my diagnostic for how well I'm doing with guiding learning. Here, I've flipped those around into questions you can use for diagnosing how well inquiry is going in your classroom:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><ol><li>How engaged are your students in scientific questions?</li><li>How do your students give a priority to evidence when they are learning science?</li><li>How adept are your students at developing explanations based on the evidence they're seeing?</li><li>How adept are you at guiding your students to consider alternative explanations for the evidence they're seeing?</li><li>How are your students constantly communicating and justifying their explanations?</li></ol><div>I've found that if I think through the five essential features, I can usually figure out what's not working well in the inquiries I'm leading and how I can improve my students learning.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be tweeting out tips based on each of these questions in the next few days. I hope these help you as you teach with inquiry. Please let me know with a comment here or a reply on twitter if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.</div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-45072927445238098482011-12-04T13:02:00.002-06:002011-12-04T13:03:24.169-06:00FCR STEM Conference linksThanks so much to those of you Florida teacher who attended my sessions over the last two days. Here are the links I promised:<br /><ul><li>My <a href="http://prezi.com/aaqlhfoa5yp4/unbelieving-evolution-fl-panhandle-stem-dec11-15/?auth_key=4d928e18741d631ebb580503780e29e3492e7d67">Prezi on teaching evolution</a> from Saturday.</li><li>For the Facebook page with teaching evolution resources, look to the left here for a link.</li><li>My <a href="http://prezi.com/6wxuasl2qpx5/silver-anniversary-model-of-science-teaching-15-fcr-stem/">Prezi on inquiry</a> from Sunday.</li></ul>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-83351251957413289962011-11-11T06:57:00.000-06:002011-11-11T06:57:37.084-06:00Teaching Evolution ResourcesA big thanks to all of you who attended my sessions at NSTA in New Orleans. I posted resources from both sessions on the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1450553942">Facebook page for </a><i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Missing-Link-Connecting-Evolution-Kids-Afraid-to-Learn-It/219770738059779">The Missing Link</a> </i>(since I was having trouble with uploading to the NSTA site). If you have any questions, feel free to write them on the wall there or as a comment here.&nbsp;<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6J66SdZlZgo/Tr0bgTcNtzI/AAAAAAAAAOc/nj6SB-otO7A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2011-11-11+at+6.53.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6J66SdZlZgo/Tr0bgTcNtzI/AAAAAAAAAOc/nj6SB-otO7A/s320/Screen+Shot+2011-11-11+at+6.53.04+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-15879020302016918432011-11-08T12:51:00.000-06:002011-11-08T12:51:57.178-06:00See You in New Orleans?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGtPBbSlryw/Trl5GiOGCmI/AAAAAAAAAOU/Ks8lbiO6wVo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2011-11-08+at+10.36.17+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGtPBbSlryw/Trl5GiOGCmI/AAAAAAAAAOU/Ks8lbiO6wVo/s320/Screen+Shot+2011-11-08+at+10.36.17+AM.png" width="253" /></a></div>It's almost time for NSTA's Regional Convention in the Big Easy, and I'm getting excited. Please let me know if you're coming so we can connect up. I'll be speaking twice on teaching evolution, and the image here gives the times and locations.<br /><br /><ul><li>My Thursday session is workshop-styled, and we'll be focusing on specifics in the classroom. You'll walk away with a lesson plan for teaching whale evolution and an overview of the evolution unit I created in <a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E01749.aspx">The Missing Link</a>. If you've been to one of my sessions before on teaching evolution to resistant students, this is a good follow up.</li><li>My Friday session is a big picture look at the issues involved in teaching. Do you have students afraid of evolution, maybe even hostile to it? I'll give you some good traction on the issue and show how you can be faithful to the science without attacking any faith-full students in your class.&nbsp;</li></ul><div>Both sessions feature inquiry as the heart of science teaching.&nbsp;</div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-83680010325453614722011-10-30T19:09:00.002-05:002011-10-30T19:13:13.024-05:00Backstory of a TweetI just tweeted. No big deal really. It was a quote from an Educational Leadership article I was reading. But, in case you weren't aware of how teaching and learning is happening now in today's university, here's the gist of what happened:<br /><br /><ul><li>In my online class, I posted an assignment on Blackboard for students to find &amp; read good articles on how schools at changing.</li><li>My students log in and read the assignment.</li><li>They log into our university library and find the e-version of the journal.</li><li>One of my students, B, selects an article on today's tech savy students.</li><li>He reads the PDF of the article.</li><li>He posts a summary of the article and the PDF in Blackboard for his peers in the course.</li><li>I click through all of their posts on my laptop as I grade their article submissions.</li><li>His article catches my eye.</li><li>I don't want to forget to read it; so, I email the PDF to myself as a reminder.</li><li>Later I'm sitting by the fire taking it easy. I'm listening to music on my iPad.</li><li>I see the article in my email and decide to take a look.</li><li>I realize I think I'll want to hang on to the article for future reference, so I open it in iBooks.</li><li>One paragraph catches my eye, and I think about tweeting it out.</li><li>I zoom in on the paragraph with a flick of two fingers, and click with my iPad to screen capture an image of the paragraph.</li><li>I open Twitter, type in my tweet, and attach the paragraph image.</li><li>The good find from one of my students is now out to my 300+ followers, one of which is B from my course.</li></ul><br />And, it took me as long to write this post as it did to read the article and post the tweet.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-86627310399804322902011-08-05T12:27:00.001-05:002011-08-05T12:27:44.633-05:00Mirror Inquiry Ideas<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/J5ldnTDyp6E/0.jpg" height="266" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J5ldnTDyp6E?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J5ldnTDyp6E?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><br />I got inspired this week to move an inquiry I've been doing for years onto Prezi. Here's my vlog entry on what I learned in the process, including the following thoughts.<br /><br /><ul><li>Here's a link to<a href="http://prezi.com/8l3qsuqsvhbt/mirror-inquiry/"> the Mirror Inquiry on Prezi</a>.</li><li>The original concept for the inquiry came from Video #1 of <a href="http://www.learner.org/resources/series26.html">the Minds of Our Own series</a>.</li><li>Transitioning from a hard copy to Prezi. An image of the old Word file is below.</li><li>Starting to implement web-based video for bursts of instruction. Find all of the videos I researched at my <a href="http://www.delicious.com/pleemeadows/MirrorInquiry">mirror inquiry Delicious tag collection</a>.</li><li>Aha! I could use these videos from my iPad when working with small groups.</li><li>Kids can go back to this Prezi whenever they want.</li><li>Teacher's corners &amp; Facilitator's corners.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D6pq6beOclE/TjwngiwU7fI/AAAAAAAAAM4/Fxu9837YDWY/s1600/Old+Mirror+Inquiry.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D6pq6beOclE/TjwngiwU7fI/AAAAAAAAAM4/Fxu9837YDWY/s320/Old+Mirror+Inquiry.png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-20079565007448440252011-07-15T17:03:00.000-05:002011-07-15T17:03:37.229-05:00Celebrating Authentic Assessment<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-57oznYbmgwM/TiC4U8RPWII/AAAAAAAAAM0/ATaNo8k7DFk/s1600/photo-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-57oznYbmgwM/TiC4U8RPWII/AAAAAAAAAM0/ATaNo8k7DFk/s640/photo-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The celebration graffiti from EHS 401/600</td></tr></tbody></table>I've been using authentic assessment for over a year now, slowly transitioning away from projects my methods students did for me to projects that they do for authentic audiences. In June, I taught Methods I at UAB in a compressed format, and I really pushed the students to make each project authentic. I was really pleased with the work they did, and I think they were too. The image shows the celebration graffiti from the last day of class. I asked them, "What do you celebrate?"at the end of the course and to post that in a visual form.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-73148961494887269622011-07-06T16:12:00.002-05:002011-07-13T09:08:51.697-05:005 Kinds of Scientists: The TheistsThe most provocative kind of scientist mentioned by the National Academy in <a href="http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11876&amp;page=15">Science, Evolution and Creationism</a> are theists. As I've presented to audiences around the country on how to teach evolution inclusively, seeing theists as a credible group of scientists has been a game-changer for many people. It was for me. As a theist myself, I always had a tendency to duck my head every time supernatural beliefs and science came up. I was always on the defensive, feeling like I had to explain how I was still rational and believing. The National Academy changed that for me and many in my audiences, however, when they stated unequivocally that theists can be good scientists: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Others are theists, who believe that God actively intervenes in the world" (p. 15).</span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1NXq0QiExs/ThTGno1WqxI/AAAAAAAAAMk/UKcf_TSpFHo/s1600/128747-050-A8D771C2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1NXq0QiExs/ThTGno1WqxI/AAAAAAAAAMk/UKcf_TSpFHo/s320/128747-050-A8D771C2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://tinyurl.com/3lhgxxo</span>&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Francis Collins stands as a modern example of a theist who is a great scientist. </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Great </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is a strong word, but how else would you describe the scientist who led the Human Genome Project and now heads the National Institute of Medicine? He's a great scientist, and he's quite clear about his belief in the supernatural. In his book, </span><a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Language_of_God.html?id=zEi09x2AX9sC"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Language of God</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, Collins traces his move from atheism to Christian belief. He </span><a href="http://www.biologos.org/about"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">founded the BioLogos Foundation</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, an effort at integrating science and faith. He has recently co-authored </span><a href="http://www.biologos.org/the-language-of-science-and-faith"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Language of Science and Faith</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Collins's work reads to me like theistic evolution, but please don't be confused. Theistic sciences are not necessarily theistic evolutionists. I am a theist, but I have serious doubts about the appropriateness of trying to integrate science and faith into one nice, neat picture of agreement, especially since most theistic evolutionists work from a Christian perspective. They then are dangerously close to imposing any integration they achieve on scientists who are not Christian, since what theistic evolutionists seek&nbsp;is a search for ultimate truth.)</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Theists have always been in the mix among scientists. Before the 19th century, theists were prominent among scientists, as they were prominent in all fields in Europe. As an example, Isaac Newton consistently wrote on religious issues as well as scientific ones. In the transitions of the 19th century, fewer mainstream scientists ascribed clearly to a theistic position, but many clearly did. Louis Aggisz is one of my favorites. As I studied the history of science in American, Aggisz as a great scientist and a devout Chritian became a role model for me.&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The New Atheists get it wrong when they insinuate that theism clouds scientists'&nbsp;judgment and bars them from practicing science well. &nbsp;The National Academy got it right by including theists among scientists, and the history of science clearly shows the contribution that theistic scientists have made. The challenge for theistic scientists is maintaining their commitment to methodological naturalism in their scientific publications. They can't bring their beliefs about the supernatural into their scientific explanations, or they cross the line into the error of Creationists. Talk about supernatural actions and the hidden hand of Providence in the natural order are great conversations to have over beers after work or while tromping around collecting data in the field, but those speculations can't find their way into the write up of the data and still be scientific.&nbsp;</span>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-34067602262378234092011-06-18T07:56:00.000-05:002011-06-18T07:56:22.879-05:005 Kinds of ScientistsSomething has been rolling around in my head for a while. I'm beginning to see that there are 5 kinds of scientists when it comes to how they view evolution. The good scientists at the National Academy got me thinking about the first three kinds, but recently, I've realized that there are two more.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9730Ed8Mhw/TfyZfVrUOoI/AAAAAAAAAME/Jo1UT9CyPUM/s1600/0309105862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F9730Ed8Mhw/TfyZfVrUOoI/AAAAAAAAAME/Jo1UT9CyPUM/s200/0309105862.jpg" width="158" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div>First, the three kinds identified by the National Academy: On <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1483048251">page 15 of </a><i><a href="http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11876&amp;page=15">Science, Evolution, and Creationism</a></i>, the authors line out how scientists can be scientific materialists, deists, or theists. This statement has been a game changer for me and for many of the teachers I have spoken to. In it, the National Academy has clearly kept the door to practicing science open to religious people like me. They refused to exclude us, and I'm grateful for their courage and clarity. Their statement has been a key platform in my talks on teaching evolution. If religious scientists aren't excluded from practicing science, then religious students shouldn't be excluded from learning about evolution. We must stop telling students, "Check your faith at the door. This is a science class."<br /><br />What I'm seeing now, though, is that there are actually two other kinds at the fringes of the National Academies three. These other two kinds break long-standing scientific traditions about methodological naturalism, which is probably why the National Academy didn't consider them. One fringe group stands at the edges of theistic scientists; the other lurks at the edge of scientific materialists.<br /><br />The first fringe category is pretty clear, and it's the Creationists and Intelligent Design advocates. They argue that science should consider supernatural as well as natural causes. As I heard <a href="http://www.fixed-point.org/index.php/itbspeakers">Michael Behe explain last night</a>, scientists should follow the evidence wherever it leads. If it leads to an intelligent designer, as Behe believes, then that's good scientific thinking. He just crossed the line of methodological naturalism, however, and that opens the door to the chaos of scientists having to figure out which supernatural explanations from all the religions in the world get considered.<br /><br />The second fringe category is more subtle, and as a religious person, it's the one that concerns me more. It's closely aligned with the New Atheists, and it basically says that religious people themselves, not religious explanations, should be excluded from practicing science. Here, think about <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1483048263">Dawkin's </a><i><a href="http://richarddawkins.net/videos/598234-richard-dawkins-on-his-book-the-god-delusion">God Delusion</a></i> and how delusional people don't make good scientists. The problem with these fringe scientists is that they are breaking long standing scientific traditions about philosophical naturalism. Science has never excluded people who believe in the supernatural, but in its modern formulation it has always said that scientists must stick to natural explanations in their work and publications. These fringe scientists make scientific materialism not just one of three possible views, as the National Academy has said. Instead, they make it a requirement for all scientists, excluding me and every other religious person from doing science. They have just opened the door to the chaos of elite science where only a few enlightened individuals can understand science, and the implications of that stance are hugely sinister.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-66253145675543584502011-03-31T06:57:00.000-05:002011-03-31T06:57:02.124-05:00Eagle Evolution: An Inquiry with Prezi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ebemdNPkZY/TZRr6-WfC9I/AAAAAAAAALw/8g7Dvb3VJGU/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-03-31+at+6.56.01+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ebemdNPkZY/TZRr6-WfC9I/AAAAAAAAALw/8g7Dvb3VJGU/s320/Screen+shot+2011-03-31+at+6.56.01+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />More and more, I'm seeing the power of Prezi for teaching well today, including teaching science by inquiry. Over the last week, I developed <a href="http://prezi.com/x2yjtzjhbz12/understanding-speciation/">a Prezi-based lesson on eagle evolution</a> for teaching to a local middle school. I'm really pleased with how the lesson came out on Prezi.<br /><br />The lesson uses 4 species of sea eagles, including the bald eagle, to help 7th graders begin to grasp how variety in a population can lead to speciation over a long period of time. The students responded well to the lesson, and I think part of the reason is how easy it was to make the lesson image-based. The students jumped right into their research, using laptops, and were able to find evidence about the differences in the environment and traits between eagle species. I was also pleased with how easy it was to adapt the lesson between classes, since it was a lesson I'd never taught. The school is on a testing schedule; so, their teacher is going to finish it up today when I can't be there. With Prezi, all he needed is the link, and he'll be off and running to teach the lesson.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-32407684387575732252011-02-05T16:46:00.002-06:002011-02-05T16:49:11.002-06:00Remembering the Mimeograph<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://whatitslikeontheinside.com/uploaded_images/mimeograph-788411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://whatitslikeontheinside.com/uploaded_images/mimeograph-788411.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>One of my first memories of teaching has to be the smell of the mimeograph machine in the teachers' lounge. If you are young enough that you don't remember anything before photocopiers, mimeographs were what teachers used to make copies back in the day.<br /><div><br /></div><div>You made a master by handwriting or typing on a special combination of paper types. By the way, I do mean typing, not word processing. We were using old-style typewriters and any mistake was a real pain to correct. Then, you removed a sheet from the master that had your original turned into purple on the paper. You attached that sheet to the drum on the mimeograph machine, loaded in a stack of blank paper, and started turning the handle. If your school had a fancier machine, it turned itself with a motor. As the drum made contact with each sheet of blank paper being fed through, the machine transferred an image to the paper. A little of your master wore off with each sheet; so, masters wouldn't make copies forever.&nbsp;The smell came from the fluid in that gallon container in the picture, and you could smell it far down the hall whenever someone was making copies. Here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0wUcCInJ2o">a YouTube video showing a mimeograph machine in action</a>. They were loud!</div><div><br /></div><div>Do I miss mimeographs? No, not at all. I don't even miss photocopiers now that I've moved to almost-paperless teaching. Mimeographs do remind me, though, of a very different day of teaching the first time I was in the classroom. No photocopiers, no word processors, no spreadsheets, no cell phones, and no Internet! The last one seems to be the one that amazes my Net Generation students the most. We taught without any Internet support. All we had where our textbooks, the supplemental materials that came with them, and any resources we had collected on our shelves or in our filing cabinets. We were all little teaching islands in our own classrooms.</div><div><br /></div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-8161974905101946172011-01-17T09:17:00.004-06:002011-02-05T16:51:20.234-06:00Teaching 25 Years<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h_T-u5hM6-U/TTRdE59bRbI/AAAAAAAAAKU/0VD4kHVj8Bg/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_h_T-u5hM6-U/TTRdE59bRbI/AAAAAAAAAKU/0VD4kHVj8Bg/s200/images.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(image from&nbsp;http://www.hesilir.gr/)</td></tr></tbody></table>This month marks my silver anniversary of teaching. 25 years ago, I took my first teaching job. I decided late in my pre-med studies in college that I didn't want to go to med school, and I really didn't have a plan B. I tried working as a youth director in a Baptist church for awhile, but quickly realized I didn't like being a professional Christian. My parents were both educators, and I had often wondered if teaching was in my blood, too. So, when my church job was cut to part time, I went looking for jobs as a substitute to give teaching a try. The first school I walked into, a small private school in Greenville, Mississippi, hired me on the spot. Their junior high math teacher had just walked out, and I took over that class when spring semester started.<br /><br />I learned over that first semester that I didn't like junior high, I didn't like math, but I really liked teaching. I thought I had found my niche, and 25 years later, it's clear that I had. I am my teacher. It's one of the main ways I define myself. I do it naturally, and it brings me great joy. There's nothing quite like those times in my classroom with my students in which we're all engaged in true learning.<br /><br />I'm not sure yet how I'm going to celebrate this silver anniversary, but I really do want to mark this milestone. I may be blogging over the next semester about key moments in teaching across the last 25 years. (It's funny--the first thing I think of is the mimeograph machine!) I find myself being reflective and a little nostalgic as I think of a quarter century of teaching. That's a long time doing a really valuable job!Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-59546748768183221912010-12-23T08:00:00.000-06:002010-12-23T08:00:23.251-06:00Leaving Religious People Out of Science<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h_T-u5hM6-U/TRNTbBTu1vI/AAAAAAAAAJg/dSbVfJTFncc/s1600/50355_168930469786983_2553119_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h_T-u5hM6-U/TRNTbBTu1vI/AAAAAAAAAJg/dSbVfJTFncc/s200/50355_168930469786983_2553119_n.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>Thus far, Elaine Howard Ecklund's&nbsp;<a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/ReligionTheology/SociologyofReligion/?view=usa&amp;ci=9780195392982#">Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think</a>&nbsp;is a really good read. I appreciate most of all how she is using research to lay out the range of scientists' views about religion. She's clearing up the myths and assumptions that often turn debate into shouting.<br /><br />The first few chapters have me thinking about social reproduction and how the culture of university science departments keep religious people out of science. She shows how many religious scientists feel that their faith beliefs would not be accepted by their colleagues, and they therefore keep their religion as a private matter. So, to the public or to students in classes taught by that group of scientists, science has an unreligious or even anti-religious face.<br /><br />Dr. Ecklund's research shows that this is not some sinister plot of Some Evil Group of Scientists who are out to destroy religion in America. Instead, her research is making me think of how social cultures reproduce themselves. Until Title IX mandated change, American girls so often heard the message, "Sports are for boys" mainly because boys were the only ones in sports. The male-dominated American sports culture reproduced itself until the sports culture was forced to change and now we see how great athletes girls can be. In the same way, I'm wondering if religious people don't feel welcomed in science simply because they aren't already welcome in science. Isn't it that the non-religious culture of American science is simply reproducing itself and blocking many religious people from going into science because they don't feel that they're welcomed?Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-58362290901823238752010-12-10T08:05:00.003-06:002010-12-18T06:42:24.986-06:00Inquiry is the missing link<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.crazydogtshirts.com/catalog/addictedfull.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://www.crazydogtshirts.com/catalog/addictedfull.gif" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(A little caffeine can be too much!)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">When I presenting on teaching evolution in Nashville, I was on a huge caffeine buzz. (When the sign on the gas station coffee says, "extra caffeine," they mean it!) I realize now that I might have left out my most important point in my presentation:&nbsp;<b><i>Inquiry is the missing link in evolution education.</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">&nbsp;Inquiry is what best allows students who resist learning about evolution to engage in looking at the evidence and how scientists explain the evidence because inquiry doesn't rely on authoritative pressure.</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></b>In typical evolution education, conflict can easily boil down to, "I'm the teacher. That settles it." Or to, "That's what scientists say. Case closed." That may not be what the teacher is saying, but it's too often what resistant students are hearing. They hear an appeal to authority, and they are ready to counter with the authorities they trust more, whether those be God, the Bible, or what their preacher or parents say. Inquiry turns the discussion away from conflicting authorities to the evidence at hand. Inquiry frees the teacher to say to resistant students, "What do you think?" about the evidence at hand or how to explain it sticking to the rules of science.<br /><div><br /></div></div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-7810853277445484612010-12-07T15:37:00.001-06:002010-12-11T05:46:28.516-06:00Authentic Work for Authentic AudiencesI've been teaching Classroom Management at UAB for about a year now, and I just received from that class what is probably the most authentic set of student work I've ever received. I've been working on implementing authentic work for authentic audience for about a year now, and with this set, I see that the work really paying off.<br /><br />I gave my students this as their final course question, "How will I solve the authentic problem I face of having no opportunity now for practicing the skills necessary for effectively managing student misbehavior?" As any experienced teacher knows, it's impossible to learn how to manage secondary students' misbehavior while sitting in a university classroom. So, I basically told my classroom management students, "Go find a misbehaving group of secondary students and figure how what to do with them?"<br /><br />I'm so impressed with what they came up with, and what really struck me was the range of their products. Here's a list of the kind of products they used to show what they've learned:<br /><br /><ul><li>A brochure for future art teachers</li><li>An image gallery of students taught and lesson learned presented in PowerPoint</li><li>Blogs of lesson learned</li><li>A hand-written journal of reflections</li><li>A technical paper for future English teachers</li><li>Memos from school officials stating their abilities</li><li>A compelling narrative of growth based on the stories of prior experience</li><li>A revision of prior work submitted, revised based on new lessons learned</li></ul><div>I think it's the most authentic set of student work I've ever received, and I'm really excited about the power of this kind of work.</div>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-62743074552920061972010-11-17T07:11:00.010-06:002010-12-01T09:26:25.982-06:00See you in Nashville?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm looking forward to NSTA's regional conference in Nashville in early December. Here's my presentation schedule:</span><br /><div style="color: #232020; font: 11.0px Perpetua; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><ul><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Missing Link: Using Inquiry to Engage Religious Students in Evolution&nbsp;</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday, 5pm.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheekwood B, Opryland</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #232020;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inquiry: What and Why?</span></b></span><ul style="display: inline !important;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Saturday, 11 am.&nbsp;</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Cheekwood C, Opryland</span></span></i></ul></li></ul><i></i><br /><i></i><br /><i></i><br /><i><div style="display: inline !important;"><div style="display: inline !important;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #232020;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me know if you're going to be there. I'd enjoy hearing how science teaching is going in your corner of the world. Also, after the conference, feel free to post any feedback you have for me on my presentations or any questions that I can answer for you about something I said or resources you might need.</span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #232020;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #232020;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div></div></i><i></i>Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21951307.post-69619852270367441382010-10-23T07:58:00.001-05:002010-10-27T08:04:28.034-05:00ASTA follow-upThanks to all of you who attended my ASTA sessions yesterday.<br /><br /><ul><li>Here's the link to the <a href="http://prezi.com/3rp_kpkntsws/unbelieving-evolution/">Unbelieving Evolution prez</a>i.&nbsp;</li><li>Here's the link to the <a href="http://prezi.com/nzp7h09zcioy/the-edge-of-inquiry/">Edge of Inquiry</a> prezi.</li></ul><br />Please comment back if I've missed any resources, and I'll post them here ASAP.Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562590584991076543noreply@blogger.com1